You remember those Netflix commercials? The ones where characters refer to movies without saying their titles? Like the one with the hockey coach getting his players revved up who says, “You remember that scene when the team was down and the coach, he gave that speech?”
Jessica Schnurr (along with her former creative partner Daryl Gardiner) wrote those spots while at DDB Vancouver. The ads—which won Marketing Awards gold plus bronze in Cannes and at the One Show—demonstrate Schnurr’s skill for boiling complicated client requests into simple concepts that connect with consumers.
“A good copywriter looks for a human truth around whatever project they’re working on, and knows how to simplify that human truth into something that’s meaningful for the target,” says Dean Lee, executive creative director at DDB Canada. “Jess is great at being able to distill whatever a client’s problem is and find a truth to base the idea on.”
It’s a formula that’s working. Schnurr’s ads for clients like Canadian Tourism Commission, Crime Stoppers and the World Wildlife Fund have gained recognition from the likes of the ADCCs, Bessies, CMA Awards, LIAs and Clios (and that list is not exhaustive). This year, her resume scored her an invitation to be on the Cannes radio jury.
Since joining John St. a year and a half ago, Schnurr, 29, has been partnered with 30 Under 30 alum Hannah Smit. The pair have helped drive the agency’s work for Loblaw, particularly in implementing its integrated “Crave More” campaign for President’s Choice, as well as the agency’s upcoming work for Tangerine.
“It’s a tall order…Every day, your job is to come up with something that’s going to resonate with people, that’s completely unique and it’s never been done,” says Schnurr. “I absolutely love that challenge.”
But, perhaps the coolest recognition of a copywriter’s skill remains when their work emerges in the real world as a pop-culture reference. This is another box Schnurr can check off: New York Rangers’ coach Alain Vigneault referenced the speech from Schnurr’s locker room ad during a Stanley Cup press conference in 2014. Now there’s a scene worth remembering.
